Garnbret and Anraku win in Koper

Sorato Anraku, 16, comments on his gold in the Lead World Cup in Koper. “I was so nervous before my climb, but I tried to put that to the back of my mind and just climb well. After my first Lead gold in Briancon I wanted to carry that on, and I have been training really hard. I wanted another gold in Koper and I have it now so I’m happy.” (c) Jan Virt/IFSC

Earlier this year the youngster from Japan became the overall Boulder World Cup winner and with one Lead event remaining, he has already secured one more title, being the first male winning both disciplines overall in the same year. Talking with 8a in Brixen in June, Sorato said he mainly trains alone or with some locals from Chiba, 1.5 hours from Tokyo. Most of his training consists of bouldering, doing circuits, and sometimes some hangboarding. He does not follow any strict training plan. A couple of times a month he travels to Tokyo to train with guys from the national team.

Janja Garnbret won her 26th Lead World Cup victory and she only needs to be #9 in the last event in China, in two weeks, to secure her sixth Lead overall title. However, she is not registered to participate. “Finally I got my revenge here in Koper. I enjoyed it so much. From qualis to semis to finals, I don’t know if I have ever been as relaxed as I have been in this competition. I enjoyed climbing in front of a home crowd, with the support I really enjoyed, I’m so glad I finally got my first gold in Koper.

I have to say thank you to all the kids for all the screaming, that really gave me extra motivation. I hope they enjoyed our show. I wish they will all train hard and join us one day on the stage here in Koper.”

1. Sorato Anraku JPN Top : Janja Garnbret SLO Top
2. Jesse Grupper USA 42+ : Ai Mori JPN 44+
3. Alberto Gines Lopez ESP 23 : Vita Lukan SLO 40+
4. Toby Roberts GBR 21+ : Chaehyun Seo KOR 38
5. Alex Megos GER 21+ : Natsuki Tanii JPN 33+
Male result : Female result